Switchable ternary nanoporous supramolecular network on photo-regulation.

Controlled regulation of the switchable behavior of the supramolecular network is central to the potential application in the molecular scale nanodevices. In this work, it is reported that the reversible accommodation of the guest molecules in the nanoporous supramolecular network can be regulated by the UV/visible light. The nanoporous complex template of TCDB/4NN-Macrocycle(trans,trans,trans,trans) with photosensitive units is well-defined. After the UV irradiation, the template can be switched on to encapsulate coronene molecules due to the formation of a new photoisomer(trans,cis,trans,cis) and switched off to expel coronene from the inner cavities under the visible light. The photoregulated switchable multicomponent supramolecular guest-host network provides a novel strategy for fabricating the functional nanodevices at the molecular scale.